The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea, botanically known as Hydrangea macrophylla and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Magical Opal’.
The new Hydrangea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Hydrangea cultivars with strong stems, large inflorescences and attractive flower color.
The new Hydrangea originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 2002 in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands, of two unnamed seedling selections of Hydrangea macrophylla, not patented. The new Hydrangea was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands in 2004.
Asexual reproduction of the new Hydrangea by vegetative cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands since 2004, has shown that the unique features of this new Hydrangea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.